James tread lightly we may end up with another 20 page post before long
! However I agree with you the tools get blamed vs the user. I stated it before and will once more I used the 270 to take elk and moose with no problems, never lost, never tracked just notched tags resulted. I used the proper bullet and knew my limitations, therefore it caused me no grief what so ever. Wait/pause for minute before you start typing a reply saying but..but..but if you used xxx you wouldn't need to limit yourself like you did with the 270, cuz that is my choice end of debate. I personally don't take shots unless I am certain of the outcome, sure things can happens but if the animal doesn't give me the opp I simple don't shoot!
I have seen more animals lost to #of calibers due to the user thinking any bullet out of the cannon would blow through with ease and shoot to what ever a ballistic program or chart states vs. picking the wrong gun itself. This IMHO is not gun error but rather user error. What ever you chose it should be based on your own reasoning not a write up and you should also put considerable thought into your requirements (bullet,game, range,etc) and personal abilities/limitations. In the end if your confident in your combo that is all that really matters bc you have done your homework. This obviously comes from personal experience and as we have seen it will vary greatly depending on the individual(s).